It's about a week later than normal...

...but Thanksgiving was about a week earlier than most years? I know it's no excuse, but I'm finally decorating for Christmas today. I had to take a day off work to even find the time to get it done...

(Yes, I'll use just about any excuse to take a day off work!)

Christmas May Start Now

It's official: A Charlie Brown Christmas is airing on TV tonight. Charlie Brown Christmas is the best cartoon, ever (the original, of course; the new one is dreadful).

Brass Ears

After attending an orchestra rehearsal last night where there were 6 trumpet players alone, I started wondering: How much of my hearing has been blasted away over the years by orchestral brass sections? (If not brass, then percussion - I've had that person who plays the big gong stand behind me a time or two...)

It always gets me in the mood for Christmas to go play some great music with an orchestra as we prepare for church or a Christmas concert (or in last night's case, the church Christmas concert).

It's two days after Thanksgiving: Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?

If not, maybe you're like me and avoid the malls and stores like the plague the day and weekend after Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I skipped the 5K Turkey Trot this morning that I was supposed to do. Because it's cold. And, also involves running. Instead, I'll be going straight to the stuffing this afternoon at the parental units' house, for which and whom I'm extremely grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Old...ish.

I went out for coffee this morning with my very first piano student who is in town for Thanksgiving. I started teaching this girl piano lessons 12 years ago - when she was nine years old. It's hard to believe she's all grown up, getting ready to graduate from college in Iowa, looking at grad schools and in a serious relationship, and her younger sister (to whom I also taught piano lessons) is the proud mommy of an infant. Where did the time go?! I feel old...ish. Not really old, but like these young children (I tell you, they're still babies!) around me cannot seriously be as old as they are.

To Read or Not To Read

Rarely am I actually interested in anything the National Endowment for the Arts comes out with. But today the NEA is releasing a study on reading in America. The findings and statistics are scary. Americans are reading less, and what they do read, less well, and these declines have civic, social and economic implications. I have previously mentioned that the state of reading in this country is quite sad, and I frequently wonder what it will take to turn back the tides. And I don't necessarily think that another program is going to solve this problem: it seems to go deeper than that.

Skol, Vikings!

Cotton Candy at the Metrodome is Tradition

Skol, Vikings!

OK, so as soon as we sat down at the Metrodome yesterday, I told Emily it was going to be a long game. About thirty seconds later, the Vikes scored their first touchdown of the game, and I told her it would still be a long game. The highlight, of course, was when Daunte got sacked in the endzone and got called for intentional grounding - woohooo! Safety! Justice was served. No, I'm not bitter. I disliked Daunte even when he was here. I would've loved to see Adrian Peterson run in person, but Chester Taylor did a good job with the ball yesterday. All in all, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (I mean, I love the Vikes, but they're having an awful season), and we had fun.

I didn't realize Vikings had so many horns.

Half-Time

The Kick was Good.

Fall Updates

1. I rowed a total of 760 miles on the Mississippi River this summer.

2. I finished the last of the candy corn on November 14th, making for a two-month binge. I also discovered Jelly Belly candy corn this year, which is the best, by far.
3. In the last year and a half, this blog has had 10,000 visitors. I'd give the 10,000th visitor a prize, but I don't know who you are and I have nothing to give you. Except my warmest personal regards. So there you go: to the 10,000th visitor, my warmest personal regards.

4. I have made it/am making it to 3 of 4 major sports team events this year. Twins, Wild, Vikes. No Timberwolves. Why would I bother when I know no one on the team, the two I had an inkling of are injured, and KG is in Boston?

Hello, Salmon.

What on earth possessed a parent in the 1800s to name his child Salmon?

Every once in a while I'm struck by the oddity of a person's name, and then wonder what his parents were thinking. People I know today have names their hippie parents gave them. Apparently fish were a big deal back then to Mr. and Mrs. Chase.

Apparently Salmon himself was a bigger deal back then, too - he has his picture on the U.S. $10,000 bill. He held multiple positions in government - including Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Toothpaste for Dinner Sudoku Ultimate Challenge

www.toothpastefordinner.com

Bow Ball: Casino Row-all 007

Me, Emily, Will, Amanda and Joel

The Minnesota Boat Club's annual fundraiser gala was on Saturday night. This year's theme was Casino Row-all to go with the usual silent and live auctions, eating and talking, laughing and dancing. It's fun to see all the rowers wear something other than river-smelling spandex workout clothes. It's also hilarious to see some of the older club members let loose and dance. Almost everyone gets really dressed up, and it's a blast. The choker I'm wearing in the pictures was my grandmother's, and I haven't worn it once since I inherited it from her 12 years ago. I was waiting for the perfect occasion (i.e., the right dress). Here are a few pics from our evening.

Emily and me

Anna, Emily, Kim and me

Swedish Institute

On Friday I went to the Swedish Institute with my cousin. I hadn't been there in years, and it's a very short distance from where I live now. It was fun - all the rooms are decorated for Christmas right now, each room with a different Scandanavian-country theme.

When we were on the third floor in the immigrant artifacts section, I searched in vain for a trunk I saw there when I was in grade school on a field trip. I didn't see it, which kind of disappointed me, since many years ago, I based my cursive letter "M" on how some Swedish woman had painted the "M" on her trunk. If you've ever seen my signature, you'd know what I'm talking about...

Puzzle: Twin born second is the older of the two. How does that work?

From the Star Tribune today:

A North Carolina woman gave birth to twins: Peter emerged first, then came Allison. But it's Allison who is the older of the two.

How can that be?

"Yes, Peter was born first, it was at 1:32 a.m. [Sunday]," mother LC told WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C. And Allison was born 34 minutes later.

In between, however, came the end of Daylight Saving Time, sending the clocks back one hour.

Thus, Peter's 1:32 a.m. birth time lags behind Allison's 1:06 a.m.

"We just never even thought about it until after he was born, and then we realized it was going to happen. It was really kind of amazing," LC told the TV station.

This reminds me of those kids who don't have traditional birthdays because they're born on leap day. This poor kid doesn't get his birthright because the other kid beat him to it, all due to a technicality. Good thing Daylight Savings Time wasn't around in Biblical times - think how different things would've been for Jacob and Esau...

Woeful Turn of Events

This morning marked a sad occasion: the first time I've had to scrape my car windshield this year due to a frozen substance. I've gotten away without doing it on several other occasions, but today, the entire car was encased in a frosty coating.

It is also sad because I'm realizing that this is the first full winter I will have ever parked outside. Call me spoiled, but I like parking inside a toasty garage during the winter. I suspect I will be using both scrapers this winter. (Yes, I have two of them in the car at all times - and it came in handy the other day when I had to brush all the leaves off that had coated the poor thing.)

Goodbye Fall.

Busy Weekend

1. Saturday morning.
Took dock and ramps out of Mississippi River at MN Boat Club. It was muddy and cold and wet, but we won out in the end, and got the job done...

2. Saturday evening.
Went to the Wild game at the X in St. Paul. Great game, good offense, nice fights. They won...

3. Sunday afternoon.
Watched the Vikes game with my Dad. Great game, good offensive line, good pass rush - better than they've had all season, and good running by the rookie, Adrian Peterson. They won...

4. Sunday evening.
Went to the Guthrie. Jane Eyre was playing, and it was good. They won...our applause.

Oh, and 5.! I changed all my parents' clocks except one when I was at their house on Sunday. What would they do without me? =)

Rules for Enjoying a Halloween Party, and Lessons in Fringe Flammability

Last night I went to a costume party for Halloween. I haven't really done the costume or Halloween party thing in a long time, so this year I decided to go as a flapper, something I've always wanted to do. I even made my costume - fringed dress and all. I made it to several places without incident - until last night.

My advice to get a party really going is to accidentally light yourself on fire. Or, more correctly, light your costume on fire. That's right. I have personal experience in this regard, and can tell you that fringe is highly flammable, and you and your costume will be the talk of the party (at least until someone else does something even more stupid).

In the midst of talking to several friends, I accidentally backed up into a candle that I didn't know was there. Whoosh - 12 inches of fringe singed by flames, and then my kind friend Britta swatted it out. The funniest part was probably my comment of "It's getting really warm in here," to which Britta responded, "Well, yeah! Linnea, you're on fire!"

No damage done to me, and only minor damage to the costume (the fabric of the dress wasn't very flammable, it was the fringe that bore the worst of it). And I have to tell you, I had a lot of fun with it once the danger was averted. Of course you know my first reaction - I am so wicked hot that my dress spontaneously combusted - and that pretty much started off a great night.